MICHIGAN  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE 


PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS 


ON 


A  NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY  OF 
MICHIGAN 


BY 


VOLNEY  M.  SPALDING 


ANN  ARBOR,  APRIL  i,  1898. 


LI0/E? 


THE  INLAND  PRESS 
ANN  ARBOR,  MICH. 


MICHIGAN  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE 


xt— 

PRESIDENTIAL  ADDRESS 


ON 


A  NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY  OF 
MICHIGAN 


BY 


VOLNEY  M.  SPALDING 


ANN  ARBOR,  APRIL  i.  1898. 


THE  INLAND  PRESS 

ANN  ARBOR,  MICH. 


A  NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY  OF  MICHIGAN, 


PROFESSOR  VOLNEY  M.  SPALDING. 


In  Michigan,  as  in  many  other  States;  t^3  (desirability*,  ojr, 
perhaps  better,  the  necessity  of  a  survey  of  ihe  natural  re- 
sources of  the  State  was  early  recognize^.'/-  In  183:7  BwimG? 
Mason  approved  an  act  providing  for  a  geological,  zoological, 
botanical  and  topographical  survey. 

It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  early  surveys,  or  explora- 
tions, that  followed  were  not  limited  to  a  study  of  the  mineral 
wealth  of  the  Territory.  The  flora  of  the  regions  visited 
occupied  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  time  and  attention  of 
the  explorers,  and  Dr.  Houghton's  plants  in  the  University 
herbarium  are,  many  of  them,  after  the  lapse  of  over  half  a 
century,  still  among  the  finest  in  the  collection.  Economical 
considerations,  however,  soon  led  (1840)  to  the  repeal  of  those 
portions  of  the  act  that  pertained  to  zoology  and  botany,  and 
but  little  more  was  undertaken  in  this  direction  until  the  sur- 
vey of  1859  and  1860,  the  report  of  which,  transmitted  by 
Professor  Winchell,  in  1860,  included  geology,  zoology  and 
botany,  the  zoological  part  consisting  of  an  enumeration  of 
birds,  reptiles,  batrachians  and  mollusks,  while  the  part  de- 
voted to  botany  includes  a  list  of  vascular  plants,  with  remarks 
on  distribution  and  economical  relations. 

Since  that  date  the  survey  has  been  geological.  Its  sci- 
entific and  practical  value  are  not  questioned,  but  it  is  at  least 
an  open  question  whether  a  return  to  the  more  comprehensive 
plan  of  the  original  promoters  of  the  survey  is  not  desirable, 
and  whether  there  is  any  reason  to  suppose  that  at  the  pres- 
ent time  there  are  under  the  earth  in  Michigan  things  about 


973710 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY. 

which  it  is  more  important  for  us  to  know  than  it  is  to  know 
about  those  in  our  waters  and  in  our  forests. 

The  practice  of  other  States  may  be  expected  to  throw 
some  light  on  this  question.  Our  neighboring  State  of  Ohio 
has  published,  as  part  of  its  voluminous  report  of  the  Geolog- 
ical Survey,  a  large  volume  on  the  zoology  of  the  State,  in 
which  the  honored  and  lamented  Chief  of  the  Survey,  Dr.  J. 
S.  Newberry,  takes  occasion  to  speak  at  some  length  of  the 
educational  and  practical  value  of  this  part  of  the  work;  and 
Iftdia^a,  in  tts  Purvey  by  counties,  has  made  large  provision 
for  the  study  of  the  plant-life  of  the  State,  with  the  object, 
amoilg  other  things, 'pf  preserving,  for  future  generations,  a 
permanent  record  of  the  flora  as  it  now  exists. 

New  York  State  many  years  ago  made  appropriations  for 
the  natural  history  side  of  its  survey,  and  has  continued  this 
liberal  policy  to  the  present  time,  and  the  recent  reports  of  the 
Geological  Survey  of  New  Jersey  give  large  space  to  the 
report  of  the  botanist,  while  Pennsylvania  has  recently  organ- 
ized a  comprehensive  survey  of  its  forest  resources,  and  States 
farther  south  have  set  an  example  which  we  may  well  con- 
sider. The  work  of  the  Alabama  Biological  Survey  comes  to 
us  as  an  example,  with  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  long  and  well- 
directed  activity  of  that  rare  scientific  genius,  Dr.  Charles 
Mohr,  and  with  a  corps  of  younger  men  eagerly  pushing  for- 
ward  into  fields  that  still  in  Michigan  wait  our  explorations. 
Can  it  be  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  Gulf  is  more  invigorating 
to  workers  in  science  than  that  of  the  Lakes  ? 

But  in  some  of  the  newer  States  of  the  West  we  find  a 
still  fuller  realization  of  the  broad  views  and  more  comprehen- 
sive plans  that,  partly  in  the  light  of  experience  and  partly  as 
the  result  of  a  growing  conviction  of  the  inter-dependence  of 
all  organic  science,  have  been  embodied  in  the  practical  work- 
ings of  the  State  Surveys.  In  Minnesota  the  Survey  was 
organized  as  late  as  1872.  It  was  named — and  the  name  is 
significant — The  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey  of 
Minnesota,  and  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of 


A  NATURAL    HISTORY  SURVEY.  5 

Regents  of  the  University.  "The  Survey  is  comprehen- 
sive in  its  scope.  The  fields  of  investigation  named  in  the 
original  act  are  geology,  botany,  zoology  and  meteorology."  * 
The  results  of  the  investigations  already  made  include  so  many 
bulletins,  scientific  papers  and  reports  that  an  enumeration 
would  occupy  too  much  time,  but  they  stand  as  witness  to  the 
liberality  and  breadth  of  view  with  which  this  Survey  has 
been  conceived  and  so  far  carried  out,  and  we  may  congratu- 
late the  people  of  our  vigorous  sister  State  on  "  the  steadiness 
of  purpose  that  has  held  the  Geological  and  Natural  History 
Survey  of  Minnesota  to  its  work." 

It  is,  perhaps  unnecessary  to  go  further,  although  other 
examples  are  not  wanting  of  the  fact  that  States  characterized 
by  generous  and  enlightened  views  have  provided,  and  are  now 
providing,  means  for  surveys  not  limited  by  the  bounds  of  a 
single  science,  in  which  plant  and  animal  life  are  recognized  as 
being  quite  as  worthy  of  study  as  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  State. 

Unfortunately,  this  is  not  true  of  our  own  State.  Former 
papers  before  this  academy  have  not  failed  to  emphasize  the 
patent  fact  that  Michigan,  so  far  from  being  a  leader  among 
the  States  in  organized  biological  work,  conducted  by  the 
State,  is  far  behind  others  that  started  later;  and  the  fact  that 
a  special  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
appropriations  from  the  Legislature  for  printing  the  publica- 
tions of  the  Michigan  Academy  of  Science  has  thus  far  met 
with  no  success  may  well  lead  to  careful  seeking  after  the 
cause  of  this  apparent  indifference.  Are  we  producing  noth- 
ing worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  State  ?  Or  is  our  work 
good  enough  in  its  way,  but  of  no  money  value,  and  conse- 
quently something  that  the  public  money  ought  not  to  be  spent 
for?  Or  is  there  some  occult  reason,  not  yet  suggested,  for  a 
condition  of  affairs  that,  to  say  the  least,  is  not  creditable  to 
the  State  of  Michigan  or  to  the  scientific  workers  within  its 
borders  ? 

*Hall  C.  W.  The  University  of  Minnesota,  an  Historical 
Sketch.  Minneapolis,  1896. 


6  A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY. 

Without  attempting  here  and  now  to  discuss  these  ques- 
tions, it  is  enough  to  say  that,  however  far  from  our  ideal  the 
record  of  the  past  has  been,  present  opportunities  constitute 
an  imperative  call  to  present  duty.  There  are  certain  press- 
ing problems  of  both  economical  and  scientific  interest  to 
which  we  should  address  ourselves. 

In  Michigan  two  such  problems  are  presented  by  our  for- 
ests and  fisheries.  It  is  to  the  former  that  I  wish  for  a  short 
time  to  direct  your  attention.  The  facts  are  familiar,  but  I 
am  sure  that  those  who  have  already  done  so  much  in  this 
direction  are  the  very  ones  who  will  most  gladly  listen,  if  by 
any  means  we  may  at  length  see  more  clearly  and  take  some 
actual  forward  steps  toward  the  working  out  of  the  great  prob- 
lem involved  in  the  future  of  our. Michigan  forests. 

The  pine  belt  of  Michigan  formed  in  its  day  part  of  one 
of  the  finest  natural  forests  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  with  its 
magnificent  cork  pines  hundreds  of  years  old,  towering  above 
equally  beautiful  specimens  of  sugar  maple,  basswood,  rock 
elm  and  other  deciduous  trees,  constituting  the  beautiful 
growth  of  hard  wood  that  still  covers  so  many  square  miles  of 
northern  Michigan.  It  was  a  forest  that  did  not  grow  in  a 
day.  It  takes  about  two  hundred  years  for  a  white  pine  tree 
to  come  to  maturity,  and  many  of  those  cut  by  Michigan  lum- 
bermen were  much  older,  so  that  when  lumbering  was  com- 
menced in  the  State  one  of  its  great  natural  resources  that  had 
been  hundreds  of  years  in  making  changed  rapidly  into  another 
form  of  wealth  and  disappeared.  The  later  history  is  familiar 
to  you.  Year  after  year  saw  gigantic  lumbering  operations 
farther  and  farther  extended,  and  fearful  fires  sweeping 
through  the  debris,  carrying  thousands  of  acres  of  virgin  for- 
est to  its  doom,  with  the  homes  and  hopes  of  settlers,  leaving 
such  a  picture  of  desolation  as  haunts  the  memory  of  one  who 
has  passed  through  it,  all  the  more  appalling  because  of  the 
tragic  wreck  of  human  interests,  and  the  apparently  hopeless 
outlook  for  the  future. 

It  is  well  for  us  servants  of  the  State,  even  if  devotees  of 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY.  7 

pure  science,  to  try  and  form  some  conception  of  the  magni- 
tude of  an  interest  that  has  been  so  conspicuous  an  element  in 
the  material  development  of  the  Commonwealth.  Briefly, 
then,  as  early  as  1881  the  aggregate  value  of  the  forest  prod- 
ucts of  the  State  was  estimated  to  have  reached  more  than  a 
billion  dollars,  and  now  after  half  a  century  of  lumbering,  and 
after  the  closing  of  one  great  mill  after  another  and  removal 
of  the  operators  to  other  fields,  the  State  of  Michigan  alone 
produced  in  1897,  2,335,000,000  feet  of  lumber  and 
1,284,000,000  shingles.  These  figures  may  produce  no  real 
conception  of  what  they  stand  for,  but  they  may  help  us  in 
some  measure  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
State  has  been  due  very  largely,  if  not  chiefly,  to  its  forests, 
and  that  the  State  must  inevitably  suffer  a  loss  not  easily  esti- 
mated through  the  certain  diminution  of  this  great  source  of 
wealth. 

We  may  now  raise  the  question  whether  all  this  is  any 
concern  of  the  State,  whether  as  a  Commonwealth  it  is  under 
any  obligation  to  seriously  take  up  the  question  of  forest 
reserves  and  State  control,  and,  if  so,  what  can  be  done?  And, 
in  the  second  place,  we  may  inquire  whether  individual  citi- 
zens, and  especially  those  who  have  had  scientific  training, 
have  a  duty  in  the  premises. 

There  is  a  school  of  sociologists  who  hold  that  the  func- 
tions of  government  should  be  reduced  rather  than  extended; 
that  they  govern  best  who  govern  least;  and  that  "the  good 
of  the  nation  is  attained  by  inactivity  rather  than  by  active 
exertion  of  the  government,  by  allowing  the  individual  to 
work  out  his  own  salvation  (or  damnation)  amid  the  free  and 
unrestricted  play  of  natural  forces,  rather  than  making  them 
do  so."  Such  laissez-faire  doctrines,  however,  will  hardly  ap- 
peal, to  that  more  enlightened  and  healthy  public  sentiment 
that  regards  the  function  of  government  as  legitimately  exer- 
cised "  wherever  co-operation  of  the  whole  will  accomplish  the 
end  aimed  at  by  society  better  than  individual  effort."  * 

*Fernow,  B.  E.,  Science,  Vol.  II.,  p.  258. 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY. 

Now,  as  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Fernow,  from  whom  I  have 
already  quoted,  government  has  what  may  be  called  providen- 
tial functions  in  regard  to  natural  resources.  It  is  the  "  rep- 
resentative not  only  for  communal  interests  as  against  individ- 
ual interests,  but  also  of  future  interests  as  against  those  of 
the  present.  *  *  *  Its  activity  must  be  with  regard  to 
continuity,  must  provide  for  the  future,  must  be  providential,'* 
and  this  in  the  case  of  such  a  natural  resource  as  the  one 
under  consideration  is  possible  only  under  the  supervision  of 
permanent  institutions,  with  which  present  profit  is  not  the 
only  motive. 

These  principles  embodied  in  the  scientific  forestry  of  the 
Old  World  have  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  well-nigh 
perfect  system  under  which  in  France  the  sandy  wastes  of  Gas- 
cony  have  been  covered  with  productive  forests,  and  denuded 
mountain  slopes,  the  play  of  destructive  torrents,  have  been 
clothed  again  with  their  protective  covering  of  sod  and  trees; 
while  in  the  German  Empire  a  clear  annual  revenue  of 
$40,000,000  shows  something  of  what  is  practicable  under 
State  control  of  forest  property. 

In  the  New  World,  in  recent  years,  one  State  after 
another  has  come  to  recognize  the  necessity  as  well  as  the  rea- 
sonableness of  government  care  of  the  forests,  and  in  several 
States  important  legislative  enactments  have  defined  the 
policy  and  rights  of  the  Commonwealth  in  this  direction. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  a  law  enacted  April  25,  1895, 
provides  for  a  Commission  of  Fisheries,  Game  and  Forests, 
with  power  to  appoint  thirty-five  foresters,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
enforce  all  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Commission  for  the  pro- 
tection of  fish  and  game  and  for  the  protection  and  preserva- 
tion of  the  forest  reserve  and  all  rules  and  regulations  for  the 
care  of  the  Adirondack  Park.  The  law  provides  further-  for 
the  care  and  superintendence  of  the  forest  preserve,  for  pro- 
tection against  fire,  actions  for  trespasses,  and  for  the  pur- 
chase and  taxation  of  lands  belonging  to  the  State. 

The  New  York  State  Legislature  last  year  appropriated 


A  NATURAL  HISTORY  SURVEY.  9 

$1,000,000  for  the  purchase  of  land  in  the  Adirondack  region, 
and  the  State  now  owns  800,000  acres  (out  of  the  2,500,000 
acres)  of  forest  land  in  that  section.  This  year  $500,000  will 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Forest  Preserve  Board  to  con- 
tinue the  purchase  of  forest  lands,  and  part  of  this  sura,  it  is 
expected,  will  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  25,000  acres 
that  will  be  given  in  trust  to  the  authorities  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity for  twenty  five  years,  with  the  aim  of  having  an  exper- 
iment in  forest  preservation  and  culture  tried.* 

It  is  thus  \\ith  well-matured  plans,  looking  far  into  the 
future,  that  the  State  of  New  York  has  made  liberal  and  far- 
sighted  provision  for  its  forest  interests,  finally  calling  to  the 
aid  of  the  State  the  services  of  the  University  and  giving  a 
quarter  of  a  century  in  which  to  conduct  an  experiment  that 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  productive  of  important  results. 

The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  at  different  times  with- 
in the  past  few  years,  has  passed  laws  establishing  and  pre- 
scribing the  duties  of  a  Forest  Commission  to  report  upon  the 
condition  of  the  slopes  and  summits  of  the  important  water- 
sheds of  the  State,  the  amount  of  standing  timber,  the  part  or 
parts  of  the  State  where  each  grows  naturally,  and  to  suggest 
measures  for  maintaining  a  proper  timber  supply.  Provision 
is  further  made  for  the  enforcement  of  laws  designed  to  pro- 
tect forests  from  fire  and  for  the  preservation  and  increase  of 
the  timber  lands  of  the  State  and  for  securing  forest  reserva- 
tions adjacent  to  waters  draining  into  the  Delaware,  Susque- 
hanna  and  Ohio  rivers. 

Most  instructive,  perhaps,  on  account  of  similarity  of 
conditions,  is  the  recent  history  of  forest  legislation  in  Wis- 
consin. The  Legislature  of  1897  passed  a  law  authorizing  the 
Governor  to  appoint  a  commission  consisting  of  three  mem- 
bers to  devise  and  draw  up  a  plan  for  the  organization  of  a 
State  forestry  department.  The  plan  is  to  include  provisions 
for  the  reservation  by  the  State  of  all  lauds  which  are  better 
fitted  for  the  growing  of  timber  than  for  agricultural  pur- 

*New  York  Tribune,  February  19,  1898. 


10  A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY. 

poses,  the  purchase  of  similar  lands  abandoned  by  their  owners 
and  the  management  and  replanting  of  forests  according  to  the 
principles  of  scientific  forestry.  They  are  also  to  draw  up  a 
plan  by  which  the  forestry  department  may  be  from  the  first 
self-supporting  and  in  time  become  a  source  of  revenue  to  the 
State. 

It  was  provided  that  the  commission  should  receive  no 
compensation,  but  the  services  of  a  competent  expert  con- 
nected with  the  Forestiy  Division  at  Washington  were  secured, 
and  $500  towards  his  actual  expenses  were  provided  by  the 
State  Geological  and  Natural  History  Survey.  Mr.  Filibert 
Roth,  who  was  detailed  for  this  work,  entered  upon  his  task 
with  characteristic  energy,  and  in  a  month's  journey  visited 
27  counties  with  a  total  area  of  18.5  million  acres.  His  report  * 
is  of  special  interest,  giving,  as  it  does,  a  remarkably  clear 
statement  of  the  condition  of  things  over  an  area  embracing 
fully  half  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  including  8.5  million 
acres  of  cut-over  land,  most  of  which  is  burned  over  and 
largely  waste,  and  on  which  some  twenty  billion  feet  of  pine 
has  been  destroyed  by  fire.  The  value  of  the  timber  product 
of  former  years  is  suggested  by  the  statement  that  "the  for- 
est industries  have  built  every  foot  of  railway  and  wagon  road, 
nearly  every  town,  school  and  church,  and  cleared  half  of  the 
improved  land  in  northern  Wisconsin." 

The  discussion  of  the  future  of  this  great  area,  once  a 
natural  forest,  now  largely  a  wilderness,  necessarily  involves 
great  uncertainty.  Mr.  Roth  proceeds  to  show  that  in  Wiscon- 
sin "the  hardwoods,  though  perfectly  able  under  normal  con- 
ditions to  hold  their  own  and  continue  as  forests,  have  not  done 
so,"  and  "  that  hemlock  has  failed  to  reproduce  itself  for  a 
longtime,"  while  the  white  pine  "is  perfectly  capable  not 
only  to  continue  as  a  forest,  but  also  to  reclothe  old  burned- 
over  slashings  on  all  kinds  of  soil.  But  it  is  equally  certain 
that  the  great  mass  of  pine  slashings  have  remained  and  will 

*  Preliminary  Report  on  Forest  Conditions  in  Northern  Wis- 
consin. Washington,  1898. 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY.  11 

continue  to  remain  barren  wastes,  and  that  of  the  8,000,000 
acres  of  cut-over  lands  in  north  Wisconsin  not  one-tenth  is 
stocked  with  growing  timber.  And  the  swamp  woods  have  no 
future,  for  it  is  here  among  the  tall  marsh  grass  and  masses  of 
dead  poles  that  most  of  the  fires  start. 

"  In  this  way  an  area  now  nearing  8,000,000  acres,  and 
rapidly  increasing  in  extent,  remains  unproductive.  Counting 
only  20  cubic  feet,  or  100  feet  B.  M.,  as  the  annual  growth  per 
acre  on  lauds  entirely  without  any  care  or  protection  agains^ 
fire,  the  State  of  Wisconsin  loses  annually  by  this  condition  of 
things  800,000,000  feet  B.  M.  of  marketable  saw  timber;  nor 
is  this  all,  for  even  with  primitive  management  this  amount 
could  be  largely  increased. 

"  The  assertion  that  this  land  is  needed  for  agriculture, 
that  it  soon  will  all  be  settled,  and  that  even  the  sandy  soils 
produce  potatoes  and  are  profitably  farmed  by  improved  meth- 
ods, may  well  be  answered  by  a  concrete  case.  The  old  settled 
counties  Waushara,  Adams,  and  Marquette  have  an  aggregate 
area  of  1,144,000  acres;  their  improved  land  amounts  to 
340,000  acres,  leaving  fully  70  per  cent,  or  804,000  acres,  in 
brush  and  waste  lands.  In  1895  these  counties  supported  wood 
industries  whose  product  amounted  to  the  pitiful  sum  of 
$13,000,  and  probably  the  material  for  these  was  imported,  in- 
stead of  having  80,000,000  feet  of  pine  to  sell,  which  under 
simple  methods  of  care  might  have  been  derived  from  these 
brush  and  swamp  lands.'' 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  preliminary  survey  and  report  an 
important  and  valuable  contribution  has  been  made,  which  has 
opened  the  problem  for  further  information,  demonstrating 
meanwhile  the  extent  of  the  interests  that  are  involved  in  its 
practical  study.  The  Forestry  Commission  of  Wisconsin  fully 
realizes  this,  and  is  actively  at  work  with  plans  for  the 
future. 

The  similarity  of  conditions  in  the  two  States  and  the 
solid  progress  already  made  in  Wisconsin  suggest  that  we  can 
probably  do  no  better  at  present  than  to  adopt  substantially 


12  A  NATURAL    HISTORY  SURVEY. 

the  same  measures.  The  initial  expense  to  the  State  is  so  little 
as  to  be  hardly  worth  mentioning,  and  the  end  to  be  obtained 
is  of  such  far-reaching  importance  as  to  warrant,  or  rather  im- 
peratively demand,  the  earnest  work  and  personal  sacrifice  that 
will  be  involved  in  this  patriotic  effort  to  restore  in  some  meas- 
ure the  forest  wealth  of  Michigan  and  to  make  forever  impos- 
sible the  frightful  waste  of  natural  resources  that  has  been  so 
conspicuous  a  feature  of  our  recent  history. 

It  will  naturally  be  asked:  Is  this  all  that  the  Michigan 
Academy  of  Science  is  to  do  in  formulating  plans  for  a  Nat- 
ural History  Survey  of  the  State?  Workers,  many  of  us,  in 
pure  science,  are  we  to  rest  satisfied  with  merely  formulating  a 
plan  by  means  of  which  the  material  interests  of  the  State  are 
to  be  subserved  ?  Ought  we  not  rather  to  develop  a  compre- 
hensive plan  by  means  of  which  biological  relations  of  every 
kind  shall  be  brought  under  scientific  investigation  ?  Shall 
we  not  leave  practical  matters  to  practical  men  and  give  our- 
selves to  that  to  which  we  were  called — our  laboratories,  our 
students,  and  the  pursuit  of  science  for  its  own  sake. 

Such  questions  lead  finally,  as  it  seems  to  me,  to  the  an- 
swer that  the  interest  of  one  is  in  the  end  the  interest  of  all. 
Scientific  investigation,  in  Michigan  at  least,  is  to  a  great  extent 
dependent  on  means  provided  by  the  people  of  the  State,  who 
are  paying,  generally  with  cheerfulness,  sometimes  with  more 
or  less  questioning,  for  the  equipment  of  the  laboratories  in 
which  we  work.  Such  is  our  dependence,  let  us  frankly  ac- 
knowledge it,  and  hold  ourselves  ready  to  make  such  return  as 
we  are  able.  On  the  other  hand,  the  people  of  the  State  are 
dependent — more  so,  perhaps,  than  is  sometimes  admitted — on 
trained  scientific  men  for  the  working-out  of  nearly  every 
problem  affecting  their  material  interests.  There  is  not  a  prac- 
tical man  in  Michigan  competent  alone  to  successfully  work 
out  the  problem  as  to  just  what  the  State  ought  to  do  in  the 
preservation  and  profitable  management  of  its  forests.  Here 
the  services  of  trained  scientific  experts  are  indispensable,  and 
fortunately  this  University  was,  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  en- 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY,  13 

gaged  in  training  the  man  who  is  now  fitted  to  render  this  ser- 
vice and  stands  ready  to  do  so. 

In  the  second  place,  a  full  recognition  of  material  obliga- 
tion and  the  taking-up  of  just  such  practical  problems  as  this 
will  not  hinder,  but  will  pave  the  way  for,  the  more  extended 
investigation  of  the  natural  history  of  our  State  that  we  all 
hope  to  see  accomplished.  It  is,  I  am  convinced,  the  part  of 
wisdom  to  begin  our  Natural  History  Survey  of  Michigan  with 
this  great  and  pressing  problem;  but  no  one  could  think  for  a 
moment  that  it  should  end  there.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  means 
are  certain  to  be  forthcoming  as  it  becomes  evident  that  they 
are  deserved,  and  I  believe  that  we  may  to-day  begin  to  plan 
for  just  such  a  comprehensive  biological  survey  of  the  State  as 
would  satisfy  the  most  extended  and  exacting  scientific  require- 
ments, assured  that  in  due  time  we  shall  have  full  means  for 
its  accomplishment. 

I  should  hardly  think  of  attempting  off-hand  to  draw  up 
a  requisition  or  to  unfold  a  comprehensive  plan  for  such  a  sur- 
vey. But  there  are  certain  principles,  or  facts,  that  through 
their  inherent  reasonableness  must,  I  think,  command  general 
assent  and  upon  which  we  may  proceed  until  we  can  see 
further. 

First,  there  ought  to  be  within  the  State  a  collection  of 
books  of  such  extent  that  the  literature  of  any  branch  of  nat- 
ural history  may  be  within  the  reach  of  specialists,  without 
the  necessity  of  borrowing  or  undertaking  long  and  expensive 
journeys.  Such  collections  of  books  are  a  necessity,  and  the 
development  of  scientific  work  in  Michigan  will  be  advanced 
or  hindered  according  as  they  are  or  are  not  provided.  We  can 
not  have  these  books  in  a  day;  but  we  can  and  ought  to  make 
their  necessity  known,  and  to  use  every  legitimate  means  to 
secure  them.  The  State  of  Minnesota,  in  connection  with  its 
Natural  History  Survey,  appropriates  year  after  year  what 
would  seem  to  us  a  munificent  sum  for  the  purchase  of  books 
that  go  into  the  University  library  and  there  become  perman- 
ently available  for  purposes  of  research. 


14  A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY. 

Secondly,  there  ought  to  be  provision  for  the  publication, 
by  the  State,  of  all  material  that  has  assumed  sufficiently  com- 
plete shape  to  be  an  actual  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of 
the  various  plants  and  animals  within  our  borders.  Not  a  lit- 
tle valuable  material,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  writer,  lies 
packed  away  in  the  laboratories  of  the  State  that  should  be 
published  as  a  part  of  its  Natural  History  Survey,  that  with 
the  assurance  of  publication  in  creditable  form  would  be  stead- 
ily growing,  instead  of  remaining  at  a  standstill.  It  is,  I 
think,  the  duty  of  our  Academy  to  press  this  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  State  government  until  the  want  is  supplied. 

In  the  third  place,  passing  now  to  matters  that  may  be 
determined  largely  by  individual  agreement  rather  than  by 
State  action,  we  may  profitably  aim  both  at  greater  specializa- 
tion and  more  intelligent  co-operation.  When  one  has  made 
himself  a  thorough  student  in  any  special  field  it  would  seem 
both  courteous  and  expedient  for  all  of  us  to  recognize  that 
field  as  his,  to  send  him  material  that  falls  into  our  hands,  and 
to  co-operate  with  him  in  every  way  in  our  power.  I  do  not 
mean,  of  course,  that  a  summer  or  two  of  amateur  work  con- 
stitutes a  claim  to  pre-empt  any  special  group  or  subject,  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  any  one  should  be  precluded  from 
doing  his  utmost  in  any  field  whatever  to  which  his  choice  may 
lead  him,  but  that  we  ought  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  a 
division  of  labor,  and  also  the  fitness  of  looking  to  those  who 
for  a  score  of  years  or  a  lifetime  have  carefully  worked  some 
restricted  field  as  the  natural  depository  of  material,  and  author- 
ities to  whom  we  may  go  for  help  and  to  whom  we  may  gladly 
render  service  in  their  further  studies. 

Lastly,  the  question  of  organization — by  no  means  an 
easy  one — is  best  approached  by  an  attentive  study  of  the 
recent  experience  of  other  Commonwealths.  If  we  were  start- 
ing without  traditions,  with  the  virgin  soil  of  a  new  territory 
open  to  us,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  hardly  possible  to  devise  an 
organization  with  a  more  comprehensive,  practicable  and  rea- 
sonable working  basis  than  that  of  the  State  of  Minnesota. 


A  NATURAL   HISTORY  SURVEY.  15 

But  we  are  not  starting  that  way.  Our  State  Survey  has  its 
traditions.  We  have  several  centers  of  scientific  work  instead 
of  one  and  it  is  inevitable  and  desirable  that,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, they  should  have  a  hand  in  much  at  least  of  the  scien- 
tific work  that  in  the  future  is  undertaken  by  the  State. 

This  condition  of  affairs  would  perhaps  suggest  a  form  of 
organization  similar  to  that  of  Indiana,  in  which  a  Biological 
Survey  was  inaugurated  by  the  Academy  of  Science  five  years 
ago.  This  has  since  been  adopted  by  the  State,  and  is  quite 
distinct  from  the  Geological  Survey,  though  working  in  entire 
harmony  with  it,  the  State  Geologist  being  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Academy.  "In  a  very  short  time,"  says  Pro- 
fessor Stanley  Coulter,  "  the  work  in  this  survey  was  felt  to 
be  of  great  importance  to  the  State.  An  application  to  the 
Legislature  secured  an  annual  appropriation  of  $600  for  the 
publication  of  the  proceedings.  The  Academy  furnished  the 
material  and  the  editorial  supervision  without  cost  to  the  State. 
The  State,  however,  prints  and  provides  for  the  distribution  of 
not  less  than  1,500  copies  annually  of  the  proceedings."  We 
have  then,  at  our  door,  a  successful  solution  of  the  question 
by  a  State  in  which  the  situation  of  affairs  at  the  inauguration 
of  the  Biological  Survey  was  nearly  identical  with  that  in  the 
State  of  Michigan  at  the  present  time.  We  can  hardly  do  bet- 
ter than  to  learn  of  our  neighbor  and  move  forward. 

To  recapitulate:  It  has  been  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to 
formulate  and  emphasize  the  following  facts: 

1.  The  responsibility  of  the  State  for  a  scientific  study 
of  its  own  natural  resources  has  become  fully  established  by 
the  continuous  practice  of  our  own  and  many  other  States. 

2.  Equally  well  established  in  theory,  and  in  various 
States  in  practice  also,  is  the  fact  that  a  Biological  or  Natural 
History  Survey  is  of  as  great  importance  and   has  as  great 
claims  upon  the  State  as  a  Geological  Survey. 

3.  The  time  is  favorable  in  Michigan  for  undertaking  a 
Natural  History  Survey;  and  the  State  Academy  is  the  nat- 
ural source  from  which  the  movement  should  originate. 


16  A  NATURAL    HISTORY  SURVEY. 

4.  The  survey  should  be  projected  on  a  broad,  liberal 
and  comprehensive  plan,  but  it  should  include  at  the  outset  a 
specific  problem  of  practical  importance  and  at  the  same  time 
of  scientific  interest. 

5.  Such  a  problem  is  presented  in  the  future  of  the  waste 
lands  once  covered  by  the  pine  forests  of  Michigan.     It  is  cer- 
tain before  long  to  attract  enough  public  attention  to  become  a 
subject  of  legislation,  and  our  present  attitude  may  do  much 
to  determine  the  course  of  events  in  this  direction. 

6.  Meantime  there  is  every  reason  in  favor  of  proceed- 
ing as  rapidly  as  practicable,  along  lines  already  suggested,  in 
the  development  of  our  State  Biological  Survey.      This,   in 
fact,  if  not  in  form,  has  long  been  in  progress,  as  the  studies 
of  '  Unionidse    in    Michigan,'   the   '  Birds  of    Michigan,'    the 
'Michigan  Flora,'   and  various  other  pieces  of  work  of  high 
scientific  merit  abundantly  testify.     But  it  is  time  now  that  the 
undertaking  should  be  organized,   that  the  State  should  recog- 
nize its  duty  to  this  form  of  scientific  work,  and  that  we  our- 
selves should  be  forming  clear  conceptions  of  the  problems 
that,  in  wonderful,  if  perplexing,  interest,  are  sure  to  attend 
into  the  twentieth  century  the   Natural   History  Survey  of 
Michigan. 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OP  25  CENTS 


VERDUI 


B0o  T° 

BOOK   ON   THE   DATE  DUE     THE 

5°  CENTS  ° 
°N  THE  SEVENTH 


LD  21-100m-7,'40 (6936s) 


Gaylamount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros..  Inc. 

Stockton,  Calif. 
T.  M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off. 


973710 


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